"": 200,
"": "",
"": "The pale, hazy sky seemed to be growing dark.
The Pocket Watch showed five forty.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, the six of them had walked for an entire day.
Halfway down, the downhill path had turned into another trail slanting uphill. They had never really been on a slope leading off the mountain. It was simply one mountain with different peaks, rising and falling in an unbroken chain.
Zhang Li said nothing, studying their surroundings the whole time.
He felt awful, uncomfortable, and deeply resistant, but Chen Xianxian had never let go of him. Their hands were already sweaty and sticky, which only made him recoil all the more.
Every so often, Chen Xianxian gave him a reproachful look, as though she were accusing him again of having his way with her and then refusing to acknowledge her.
At last, Gu Yiren stopped.
A rock face stood close before them.
There were many tents beneath the trees.
The tents were neatly arranged.
Two off-road vehicles were parked on a narrow path.
Everything looked clean.
Gu Yiren cried.
She crouched on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Her shoulders shook without stopping, and she could barely catch her breath.
"My God! Did we really get out?" For a moment, Zhang Li wanted to cry too. Everything he had seen along the way had looked familiar, then more familiar, and more familiar still.
When an archaeological team excavated an ancient tomb, they did not just work from the entrance. They also surveyed the surrounding area to determine the tomb's full extent and layout. They were nothing like grave robbers who dug a tunnel inside and wreaked havoc. Archaeology was a discipline, a technical craft that brought a lost cultural heritage back into the light.